Jury Probes Judge, 3 Aldermen

February 01, 1985|By William B. Crawford Jr.

A federal grand jury is conducting a broad corruption investigation of a Cook County Circuit Court judge, at least three aldermen, several policemen and more than a dozen city employees in three departments, a federal prosecutor revealed in court Thursday.

The city employees work in the License and Liquor Control Office, the Department of Inspectional Services, and the Department of Zoning, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Duffy.

The aldermen were not identified nor was the judge. Much of the evidence was gathered through court-approved wiretaps, Duffy said.

According to Duffy and court documents, the six-month grand jury investigation focuses on allegations that:

-- Liquor control employees took $3,500 in cash bribes from tavern owners in exchange for liquor licenses.

-- Inspectional service employees took bribes in exchange for overlooking building code violations.

-- The judge fixed parking and traffic tickets and played a pivotal role in the overall scheme.

The investigation was made public unexpectedly Thursday at the sentencing of Victor Albanese, 49, of 815 S. Albany Ave., for extorting $5,000 in bribes. Albanese worked from October, 1982, until Oct. 15, 1984, as a $900-a-month investigator for the city council Finance Committee, prosecutors said.

However, Joan Cole, the city deputy director of personnel, said that Albanese was on the city payroll at that time as a legislative aide.

Ald. Edward Burke (14th), Finance Committee chairman, confirmed that Albanese had worked for his committee. But Burke said he asked Albanese to resign four months ago, when the alderman first learned of the federal investigation.

``We learned that he was being investigated, and we asked him for his resignation,`` Burke said. ``He did so.``

Burke, a leader of the council`s majority bloc, said that he had not been aware of any other facets of the investigation, which until Thursday had been a closely guarded secret. At the request of the U.S. attorney`s office, much of Albanese`s court file was sealed by court order.

Albanese`s sentencing also was rescheduled for noon in hopes that reporters would be at lunch and miss the hearing, a government investigator said.

U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur sentenced Albanese to eight years in prison. In December, Albanese pleaded guilty to extorting $5,000 in bribes from Jennifer Hammersmith, of Chicago, who was seeking a liquor license for the Club Victoria, a tavern she had purchased at 3153 N. Broadway.

Shadur said he was outraged by Albanese`s behavior considering that the federal Operation Greylord probe of judicial corruption was in high gear.

Shadur said that Operation Greylord ``has simply increased the price of the fix.`` He accused Albanese of engaging in ``cash register justice,`` and castigated him for his ``refusal to cooperate to help turn over the rock and find the slime.``

Criminal activity by public officials is so commonplace in Chicago, Shadur said, that it numbs the public`s reaction to it. ``Chicago has the reputation of `That`s the way it is. You can buy anything in Chicago.`

``You get along by going along. That notion tears at the very fabric of our society. And when judges are involved, the temple of justice itself has been fouled.``

Accompanied by his attorney George Murtaugh, Albanese acknowledged Thursday that he accepted $1,500 in cash from Hammersmith in late 1983 to provide a liquor license for the tavern. He admitted that in early 1984, he accepted another $3,500 from the woman to get her a 4 a.m. license.

Though Shadur`s sentence was harsh, the testimony surrounding Albanese and his alleged ``linchpin`` role in the wide-ranging corruption scheme proved more revealing.

Duffy, who is heading the grand jury investigation, outlined Albanese`s role in the scheme, and in so doing, gave an insight into the scope of the investigation.

``His job was to take care of the political considerations,`` Duffy said. ``He received a call. He made the inquiries. He set the price of the bribe. He was able to accomplish all sorts of illegal things. In simple terms, Mr. Albanese was a bagman. His crime was a serious one, and it cries out for cooperation.``

Duffy said the government had obtained more than three dozen court approved wiretaps in which the defendant is heard boasting how he could

``fix`` just about anything, from parking tickets and building code violations to zoning changes. Duffy said several informants were cooperating with the government.

Albanese and the judge hatched their criminal enterprises in the judge`s chambers, Duffy charged. According to the scheme, people who needed favors would call Albanese, who would be dispatched to carry out his criminal activity, Duffy charged.

Albanese has refused all offers to cooperate with the government, and Duffy said he urged a lengthy prison sentence in the hopes that it might induce Albanese to change his mind.

``Everyone in the nation has heard of Operation Greylord, but it hasn`t fazed Mr. Albanese a bit,`` Duffy said. ``The only effect Operation Greylord has had is to up the price of the bribe.``

Murtaugh asked for a reduced sentence, pointing out that his client had no criminal record and was unemployed. Murtaugh also underscored the fact that his client was ``not the architect, not the central figure`` in the scheme but merely was carrying out the orders of much more influential people.

Shadur rejected Murtaugh`s contentions, especially the one that Albanese was unemployed.

``Mr. Albanese wasn`t without a job. He was employed in the business of fixing things. He was in the business liquor licenses. He was in the business of fixing various kinds of violations. He was so closely and so intimately connected with the judicial system it were as though Mr. Albanese was a workdur said.